ArmInfo. The ruling Civil Contract faction in Armenia failed to vote on the amendments to the law on state pensions submitted by the opposition Armenia faction. Only 32 parliamentarians voted for the adoption of the document, with 58 against and 1 abstention.
According to the draft law, it was proposed to set the minimum pension at no less than the monthly cost of the food basket, and the average labor pension at no less than the monthly cost of the consumer basket, from January 1, 2026. It was proposed to take into account the monthly data published by the National Statistical Committee, calculated in average current prices for the third quarter of each year preceding the given budget year, as a basis. It was also proposed to leave to the government the determination of the composition, structure and energy value of food products included in the food basket, and the procedure for calculating the average labor pension.
Justifying the position of the authorities, the head of the Civil Contract faction Hayk Konjoryan noted that according to the government program, the achievement of this goal is presented in the Cabinet program for 2021-2026. It is in 2026 that this task is planned to be solved.
Hayk Konjoryan emphasized that over the past three years, the RA government has additionally allocated $350 million to increase pensions. For this reason, the faction will vote against the presented document, which is rather an end in itself.
Meanwhile, according to Artsvik Minasyan, a member of the National Assembly from the opposition Armenia faction, the already increased pensions are far from the stated goals. Moreover, during the specified period, the country's public debt increased by almost $7 billion. "Against this background, it is stated that the country's authorities are on the path to achieving the goal by 2026. In fact, the ruling faction voted against its own stated goals," the parliamentarian emphasized.
